Skip to main content

Old Tech, New Laptop

After being able to prove that my Java DMX tester code worked on the old hardware, it's now time to test it out with my new MacBook, which is where I do all my work. It's useful to be able to control DMX devices in order to test out sequences as I'm building them.

MacOS is more Unix-like, and thus, connected serial devices don't appear on a Comm Port list. Instead, they appear as file handles under the "/dev/tty.*" folder structure. I'll need to identify which on the DMX dongle is and put that in the Java DMX Text project code.

Test 1: Identify the USB Serial Device that is the DMX Dongle

This should be a matter of plugging in the DMX dongle USB cable and approving the popup dialog to allow it. And it was, except that it took about 90 seconds for the dialog to appear and during that time I worried that it wouldn't work. But it showed up in the list:



Test 2: Connect to the Dongle

Here, I'll update the Java DMX Test project to connect to the named serial device.

NOTE: I'm using the more modern jSerialComm library to establish serial communications with the DMX dongle (aka adapter). I've never used it on a Mac before, thought it claims to work on all manner of Macs as well as RPi.

As pictured below, I set the Comm Port name to the MacOs device path (and I hope it works).


There are more devices listed on the Mac, but it did manage to locate the right one and connect, so I consider that a success for the test:


Test 3: Connect the Fixture

The fixture is connected in the same 4-channel mode (RGB+W) and I'm just going to set the green output:



And... I got nothing. Let's try red: nada.

Oh wait! What does the port list say about the actual name of the port? On closer examination of the port list above, it appears that the port list has different names from the device list. Let me try one of those.

I'm going to use: /dev/cu.usbserial-DPF0FHOL

Still doesn't work! Checking the Interweb.

1) Interweb says the jSerialComm native code may not work on Apple Silicon and that I need to use the x86_64 JDK - I'm sure support for this will end soon on Mac if any of the warnings are an indicator. -- My work Mac is Intel, so it's like to work on it, but I don't want to depend on it. --- I have a modern Intel laptop as well to use, but I don't want to. 

2) Adding --enable-native-access=ALL-UNNAMED did not solve the problem

3) Switch around to various JVMs installed. The Graal 21 actually flashed a white light for a split second about 6 seconds after the program started.

4) Installed FTDI VCP drivers for MacOS - Didn't work

5) Restart MacBook after installing drivers - nothing

Attempted to get it working on Intel-based Mac and Windows gaming laptop. No joy.

Finally, I hooked up the old laptop that I had gotten it working on before to make sure everything was still good. It was not working! Did I fry the little PAR light? What is going on here?

Epilog

Worried that I had fried the light, I went through its DMX configuration and discovered it was set on 8-channel and no longer on 4-channel. Not sure how this happened (likely an internal bug that reacted poorly to weird DMX signals). When I changed it back to 4-channel, it started working on the old laptop. It also worked on my Apple Silicon MacBook Pro, which was what I was trying to achieve in the first place. Note that I also changed the serial port name to the one displayed in the serial port list. That may have a been a problem too, but I'm not sure. At least I know it will work. 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2020 Halloween Technology Updated

I've been thinking about the technical work required to create a multi-projector synchronized display. A previous post on the 2020 plan outlined some technologies to put together to make it happen. And, it was possible, albeit, time-consuming. I revisited a project that I hadn't looked too closely at before. Actually, until two years ago, it wouldn't have had the features that interested me, but it does now. It's called the Sprite Video Player by MedeaWiz and it's quite remarkable. But basically, you can load it with video and sound files and remotely command it to play a file on demand. It even works with DMX. That got me thinking about other DMX elements in the display, like lights and fog, and how I would conduct the various animations and scenes. The simple answer came from the fact that I already have some DMX components, including a USB-to-DMX connector and DMX lighting controllers. I can use a computer running either Vixen Lights or XLights and programmed seq...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sprite DMX Control Confirmed

I spent the day digging through my old DIY DMX projects and piecing together a system in order to test the Sprite DMX controller. It's best to explain as a series of tasks: Locate my Lynx DMX Dongle and install the FTDI/Virtual Comm Port drivers on my laptop (I'll use an older laptop later) Dust off my Lynx Express 16 channel AC controller to test the DMX dongle as well as finding the DMX-wired RJ-45 cables for doing so Figure out the RJ-45 to DMX signal wiring fron the Lynx Dongle Wire up the Sprite DMX module Find a suitable computer based DMX sequencer and figure out how to use it (a lot harder than I expected) Put it all together and make it work (my wife thought I was doing something useful) With the exception of spending about two hours trying to find the two tiny Sprite DMX controllers that I purchased last year (they weren't where I thought they'd be), most of my time was spent finding a suitable and easy-to-learn computer application for controlling the darn th...
Post a Comment
Read more

First Synchronized Video Produced for 2021

With the plan to use DMX synchronized video projections and lighting controllers, I have been getting busy with the setup for the 2021 Halloween display. This includes making sure the DMX hardware I have actually works and producing video content for the display. I feel that once I confirm the hardware will work, getting the hardware setup should be uneventful. The synchronized videos will require a lot more work, especially since I want to produce an hour long show (in order to not repeat the same scenes too often). I settled on four large video projectors for this season, but I know only where three of them are positioned. Figuring out where the fourth projector goes is eluding me and causing a little angst. I haven't tested the DMX controllers with the media players yet. I'm planning on testing them this weekend. This includes getting a DMX interface from the computer to the universe to work as well as sequencing software. I still have my Lynx USB-to-DMX interface but haven...
Post a Comment
Read more